Google's new 'send a call from Santa' service, from you straight to your favorite zombie hunter

Google has unveiled a new "service" that could, unfortunately, take up a lot of people's time. It's available at the "URL gives away the secret" website sendacallfromsanta.com.

Indeed, you can send a call from Santa, right down to the "Ho, ho, ho," but Santa is polite: he won't call at hours that he deems are too early, or too late. For example, he won't make the call before 8 a.m. in the recipient's time zone, based on their phone number.

Admittedly, in this day and age when folks tend to keep their cell phone numbers even when they move cross-country, that could be an issue, but hey, the service tries, at least.

The service plays out like one of those "Fill in the blanks" stories. You select answers to questions like where the person lives (including answers like Cyberspace and La-La land along with real-life locations), what they want (including stilettos --- even for a guy), what Santa should call the person (like Cutie Pants, Boo, etc.), and a lot more.

You then enter your number, and the recipient's number, and viola. If you want to fool the person, it might be good to use a fake phone number, but that also runs the risk that the person might not answer the call.

On the other hand, the area code for North Pole, Alaska is 907; enter a series of random numbers after the area, and the call will still go through.

Don't worry: if the person doesn't celebrate Christmas, there are other things to select, such as the generic "holidays," or Kwanzaa or Hanukkah.

In addition, Santa now has his own Google Voice number. If you call 855-34-SANTA, you'll reach Santa's answering machine and you (or more likely, your children) can leave him a message. Don't expect a return call from Santa or one of his elves, though. He has 3.7 billion appointments (or more) coming soon.